“The purpose of the legislature in enacting s 34(1) is to protect creditors by preventing traders who are in financial difficulty from disposing of their business assets to third parties who are not liable for the debts of the business, without due advertisement to all the creditors of the business.” (Extract from judgement below) With […]
Buying a Business? Make Sure the Seller Publishes Notice of the Sale Read More »
“It is only where the enforcement of a contractual term would be so unfair, unreasonable or unjust so as to be contrary to public policy that a court may refuse to enforce it” (extract from first judgment below) Leases often give tenants an option to extend or renew at the end of the current term,
Options to Renew Leases – Risks for Landlords and Tenants Read More »
“Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate. More money has been made in real estate than in all industrial investments combined. The wise young man or wage earner of today invests his money in real estate” (Andrew Carnegie, billionaire industrialist) Dollar billionaire Andrew Carnegie said it a century ago, and it
Property: Green Shoots, Agent’s Commission and Fidelity Fund Certificates Read More »
“…every landowner has a right to the lateral support and where subsidence or other destabilisation occurs, as a result of excavations on an adjacent property, the owner of the adjacent property will be liable in an action for damages irrespective of whether she was negligent or not.” (Extract from judgment below) It’s every homeowner’s nightmare
Property Subsidence: New Law, Strict Liability and Ubuntu Read More »
“To sign a document means to authenticate that which stands for or is intended to represent the name of the person who is to authenticate” (quoted in the case below) We all know that verbal agreements, although fully binding for most types of transaction, are a recipe for uncertainty and dispute. It’s not just a
Electronic Signatures in Property and Other Transactions Read More »
“You can be a good neighbour only if you have good neighbours” (Howard E. Koch) It looks as if we will still be under “restricted movement” orders for a while – even when we finally get down to Alert Level 2 and who knows when that will be. Tensions between neighbours are no doubt at
Lockdown! Nuisance Neighbours and How to Handle Them Read More »
If you are one of the many employees retrenched or put on short pay or unpaid leave as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown, you will be wondering how to cover the monthly instalments on your mortgage bond and other credit agreements. You have no doubt heard of the “payment holidays” banks are
Unemployed, Can’t Pay Bond and Credit Instalments? “Credit Life Insurance” May Save You Read More »
The COVID-19 crisis has changed everything. Our personal lives have been upended and our businesses hit hard. And with many businesses operating out of leased premises, a great many landlords and tenants are asking themselves what happens if the crisis leaves a tenant unable to pay the agreed rental. What follows is of necessity a
Leases, Contracts and COVID-19: What is Force Majeure? Read More »
Many factors can delay your property transfer, and all of them are likely to cost you. A last-minute rush to comply with statutory requirements is one such pitfall to avoid. Beware therefore of the possibility that you will soon need (in some parts of the country you may already need), to lodge before transfer a
The primary remedy therefore is an order for removal of the structure (extract from the judgment below) What can you do if your neighbour has started (or finished) building without the necessary municipal approvals? In a nutshell, our courts will very probably assist you with a demolition order, as a recent High Court decision around
Your Neighbour Builds Without Plans – Can You Get a Demolition Order? Read More »
